Accessory dwelling units: separate conveyance.

The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a local agency to provide, by ordinance, for the creation of accessory dwelling units in single-family and multifamily residential zones and requires a local agency that has not adopted an ordinance to ministerially approve an application for an accessory dwelling unit, and sets forth required ordinance standards, including that the ordinance prohibit the sale or conveyance of the accessory dwelling unit separately from the primary residence. Existing law, notwithstanding the prohibition described above, authorizes a local agency to, by ordinance, allow an accessory dwelling unit to be sold or conveyed separately from the primary residence to a qualified buyer if certain conditions are met, including that the property was built or developed by a qualified nonprofit corporation and that the property is held pursuant to a recorded tenancy in common agreement. Existing law requires that tenancy in common agreement to, among other things, allocate to each qualified buyer an undivided, unequal interest in the property based on the size of the dwelling each qualified buyer occupies. This bill would require each local agency to allow an accessory dwelling unit to be sold or conveyed separately from the primary residence to a qualified buyer if the above-described conditions are met. The bill would impose an additional condition on a tenancy in common agreement subject to these provisions and recorded on or after December 31, 2021, to include specified information, including a delineation of all areas of the property that are for the exclusive use of a cotenant, delineation of each cotenant's responsibility for the costs of taxes, insurance, utilities, general maintenance and repair, and improvements associated with the property, and procedures for dispute resolution among cotenants before resorting to legal action. By imposing additional duties on local governments in the administration of the development of accessory dwelling units, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.